LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White said it best in an off-camera conversation with Mike Chiesa just moments after “Maverick” submitted Al Iaquinta in the final bout of The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale.

“Congratulations,” White told Chiesa. “Storybook ending.”

Indeed it was after Chiesa survived the heartbreak of losing his father during the first week of filming of this season’s edition of the reality competition show, especially since the bout took place on his mom’s birthday. And yet Chiesa refused to enjoy the moment too much, viewing the result as just the beginning of his journey.

“I’m definitely happy I won the show,” Chiesa said. “It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work. But I’ve got my next line of goals set up. I’m ready to go to the UFC.”

Chiesa certainly provided the most emotional storyline of “The Ultimate Fighter: Live.” After losing his father to leukemia just days into the 12-week season, Chiesa made the difficult decision to return home for the funeral only to turn right back around and re-enter the “TUF” house. As anyone who has lost a parent can certainly attest, the days and weeks following such an event aren’t always easy, and putting aside those emotions to focus on a series of professional cagefights might seem downright ludicrous.

Yet Chiesa did exactly that.

“Everybody that watched the season, they knew what I was going through,” Chiesa said. “Every day, I just had to pull myself up and keep pushing forward, keep training and keep fighting tough fighters.”

It wasn’t an easy journey for Chiesa, who was counted out in his quarterfinal fight with Justin Lawrence, as well as his semifinal bout with James Vick. Yet he won both in stunning come-from-behind fashion.

He was the underdog again at Friday’s Ultimate Fighter Live Finale event in Las Vegas, where Team Faber’s No. 1 pick, Al Iaquinta, was expected to walk through him. Instead, Chiesa weathered an early storm of aggression from Iaquinta before scrambling to his back in a clinch and choking him unconscious in the very first round.

“I know I’m not the most technical guy, but you can’t count me out in a fight at all,” Chiesa said. “I’ll stay in there, and I’ll find a way to win.”

Immediately after referee Herb Dean pulled him off of Iaquinta, Chiesa seemed a little in shock, walking slowly around the cage once before erupting into a cage-climbing celebration of intense emotion. At the evening’s post-event press conference, he admitted it took a few moments for the reality of the situation to sink in.

“It just took me a minute to kind of take it in,” Chiesa told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “That lap around the cage was very surreal.”

It was a special moment, for sure, and even Iaquinta – who was obviously disappointed in the loss – couldn’t help but be impressed by the underdog’s effort.

“I made a mistake against Mike Chiesa, who’s a tough guy and finds a way to win,” Iaquinta said. “He did that tonight. My hat’s off to the guy.

“He’s been through hell. … I’m happy for him.”

But that was the end of the celebrating, Chiesa said. Sure, the win marked the end of an emotional journey, but it also served as the beginning of a greater quest.

“Now that the show is over, and fortunately I came out the winner, now I’m focused on going to the UFC,” Chiesa said. “That’s my next goal, to become a contender. I want to jump in line.

“Now that I got the glass, I’m on to my next goal, and that’s starting to win fights in the UFC. That’s why I’m a little more serious right now.”

Chiesa said he’ll take a little time off but hopes to fight again perhaps in September for the UFC’s return to England so that he could fight alongside his Team Faber teammate, Andy Ogle. But for now, it’s just time to rest and refocus. Chapter One is done, and while it was a hell of a ride, Chiesa believes the book is just starting to be written.

“I thought it was going to be a war,” Chiesa said. “Fortunately, things went in my favor. It was just a tough season.

“I’m going to take a little break for now, but I know I’ll get the itch to go fight.”

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